Strong proficiency in Python Comfort working with one or more additional backend languages such as Java, Go, or Rust Proven experience building and maintaining data-centric backend services at scale and improving them through better testing, validation, benchmarking and scalability practices Solid understanding of data engineering fundamentals, including pipelines, streaming and analytical processing Good knowledge of SQL and modern data warehouses or lakehouses Thorough understanding of software engineering best practices such as testing, CI/CD, design patterns, performance optimization, and observability Proactive, independent, and comfortable working in a distributed team Excellent communication skills in English